Coronavirus: Race to test as Melbourne tower cases mount

The number of coronavirus cases linked to nine Melbourne public housing towers­ in hard lockdown has soared to 75.

Police and healthcare workers in protective gear prepare to enter one of the locked-down towers at the North Melbourne public housing estate on Wednesday. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

The number of coronavirus cases linked to nine public housing towers­ in hard lockdown has soared to 75, with dozens of health workers attending the two estates in Melbourne’s inner north.

And the 3000-plus residents trapped in the towers will have to “wait and see” if their hard lockdown continues, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.

The news came as community groups called the state government’s handling of the hard lockdown an “epic failure”.

Mr Andrews told reporters on Wednesday morning that he was “very confident” testing in the public housing towers would be completed that day, with extra time for the results to be processed.

“Our orders run for 14 days: five days is the time we set ourselves and whether we can deliver that exactly to the hour, we’ll have to wait and see,’’ he said.

“But the quicker everyone gets tested, the quicker we can get those results.”

On Saturday, the tower’s residents learned on the evening news that they would be unable to leave their homes for at least five days, with Victoria Police arriving at the same time.

But the public health directive prohibiting them from leaving their homes lasts for 14 days.

Mr Andrews said there was labor­atory capacity dedicated to processing the tests of the residents, which was recognition that they were living under harder conditio­ns than people in the rest of Melbourne.

“I think we need to have a complete picture across those towers, given there are real communities of interest, there’s patterns of movement, there’s friendship groups,” the Premier said.

“I think we need to be clear (and) get it all done.”

The number of coronavirus cases related to the nine towers increased­ by two on Wednesday, bringing the total to 75.

South Sudanese Community Association of Victoria leader Ring Mayar said the most important thing to the residents was the freedom to return to their normal lives with the constant police presence causing anxiety in the towers.

“The testing has just been rolled out yesterday and it was a painstaking waiting time for many of the residents,” he said.

“People really want to get on with their lives, meaning they have to be tested and allowed to live their lives normally.”

At the North Melbourne public housing estate on Wednesday, a small child waved out a window while two workers wearing hi-vis clothing sat on swings in a playground below.

Ecumenical chaplain Sally Apokys tied red, orange, pink, ­purple and blue balloons to the gate of the estate.

“We’re all children at heart and we all need a little bit of joy,” she said.

Local Somali film company Maadale Productions posted vision­ of a woman wearing a pink hijab being carried out of one of the towers at Flemington and loaded into an ambulance.

Community member Tigist Kebede is part of a coalition called Voices from The Blocks that is calling for the residents to only be subjected to stage-three restrictions. “These are literally our family members, our friends,” he said.

“Volunteers are stepping up and filling gaps as they are hearing directly from residents of the epic failures of government.”

The hard lockdown of the towers­ has been marred by delays in delivering food, as well as donated essential goods such as nappies and baby formula to the residents, who are unable to grocery shop or order food online.

People assisting the volunteer effort have told The Australian the delay has in part been due to government workers checking donate­d goods for drugs.

When asked by The Australian, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesman said: “All food is being processed in a way that ensures the health and safety of residents, volunteers and emergency services personnel, with a specific focus on food safety requirements.